Almost Perfect
by RainWillMakeTheFlowersGrow
Summary: Jehan and Cosette and flowers, oh my! High school AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, guys. Marsie is on vacation, but I'm posting for her. Don't know why I really need to tell you that, it doesn't make a difference to you. You know what? Never mind.**

**-Psycho**

Modern High school. AU, obviously. Jehan/Cosette, because, oh my gosh guys, I think I'm starting to ship this! Seriously, it's kind of perfect. I always thought Marius didn't deserve Cosette, but Jehan! Yay! **(I nearly didn't post this because of that one line. TEAM MARIUS! But...she did promise to buy me candy for uploading them...)** Because seriously. Cosette and Jehan works really well! For my own purposes, they are all the same age, juniors. Marius and Éponine do exist, just not in history class for reasons I shall not tell you yet.

"Flower boy!"

Jean Prouvaire ignored the taunt and continued writing. He had endured much worse.

From the outside, Jean Prouvaire, or Jehan, looked like someone who was easily bullied. His wavy hair was light brown, shoulder length, and usually pulled back into a mini ponytail. His fashion sense had something to be desired, what with flower print skinny jeans and colorful sweaters. He liked to write poetry, and played the flute. Jehan read a lot- mostly old books and poetry, which were interesting to him.

He was sitting under a tree, in the shade, when a girl walked up to him. She was pretty, with brown hair that fell around her shoulders and clear blue eyes, but she didn't flaunt it. The girl wore white skinny jeans and a loose, teal sheer shirt over a white camisole.

"Hi, I'm new. My name is Cosette," she said quietly.

Jehan smiled. "Jehan," he said.

Noticing his notebook, Cosette asked curiously, "do you write?"

Jehan nodded, slightly embarrased. "Yeah," he said.

Cosette smiled and said, "that's really neat. I wish I could write."

Jehan didn't say anything, just shrugged.

Cosette pointed to a spot next to the boy. "Mind if I sit?" she asked shyly.

Jehan moved over a bit so that there was more room, and Cosette sat down. Just then, the bell rang, and the two had to hurry and get to their next classes.

"What do you have next?" asked Jehan. "I can show you where it is, if you want."

Cosette checked her schedule. "Um, World History."

Jehan looked delighted. "Great, I have that next too. You can meet some of my friends, we all have that class together."

Cosette smiled and the two walked to class.

As soon as she walked in, Cosette said, "hi, Combeferre," to a bespectecaled student.

Combeferre nodded and looked up from his book. "Hi, Cosette."

Jehan smiled and said, "I take it you two have already been aquainted?"

Cosette nodded. "First block math."

"Bossuet, from math, he's also in this class," said Combeferre.

Cosette nodded, taking a seat in between the two boys, as another boy walked in. He was striking, with longish, curled blond hair, an angular jaw, and blue eyes. He took a seat next to Combeferre.

Cosette looked at the boy who had just walked in. He was slightly intimidating. Combeferre, noticing her nervous glance, introduced the boy. "This is Enjolras," he explained.

"Hi. I'm Cosette. Nice to meet you, Enjolras."

The blond nodded seriously. "Hello."

Jehan smiled. "Enjolras, did you do the essay?"

Enjolras scowled. "I.../did/ write an essay..."

Combeferre sighed. "Enjolras...what did you do?"

"I wrote an essay on my views on the Reign of Terror."

"And your views were..."

"Not the same as Professor Brunét's."

Cosette watched the exchange, bewildered. "What?"

"Enjolras has...interesting political views. Well, we all do, but he's the most outspoken. I guarentee that we won't all be in the same civics class next year, but World History...well, we've been doing the French Revolution," explained Jehan.

Three boys walked in after that. One was carrying all the books and binders and things, one was on crutches, and the other was chatting animatedly with the boy on crutches.

"-And so, me and Joly, we snuck out during lunch, right? And into that room where all the teachers hang out. And no one was in there, so we decided to do something, but we couldn't decide. And then, Madame DeClaire walks in, so we hid in the closet. And guess what was in the closet?" he said excitedly.

"Courfeyrac, I have no idea."

"Candy! Like, a lot of candy. So we had to hide until the bell rang and DeClaire walks back out, but I grabbed some of the candy."

The boy carrying the books nodded. "You should have seen Courf. I thought he was going to have a seizure."

"You always think someone is going to be sick, or have a seizure, or something. Lighten up!" complained Courfeyrac.

As the boys entered the classroom, Combeferre exclaimed worriedly, "what happened to your foot, Bossuet?"

The boy on crutches grimaced. "I was driving, and I got lost, so I my car to ask for directions, and there was this weird guy, so i tried to run back into my car, but I tripped on a crack, and when I tried to catch myself, I sprained my ankle. I sat locked in my car for about an hour trying to text Joly directions to where I was, but I was lost, so..."

Combeferre winced sympathetically. "At least it's not broken."

Cosette was about to ask something when Professor Brunét entered and the bell rang.

"Where are Feuilly, Bahorel, and Grantaire?" asked the professor.

"Feuilly has mono," explained Joly, which got a few sniggers from the class.

Brunét nodded. "And Grantaire and Bahorel?"

"Are probably smoking in the bathroom," Jehan breathed to Cosette, "but we would never turn them in."

Cosette nodded uncertianly.

"I am going to have to mark them absent, then," sighed Brunét.

A boy wearing a dirty green hoodie and black jeans skidded into the classroom. "I'm here," he gasped.

Brunét frowned and nodded. "And Bahorel?"

The boy shrugged. "I dunno." He sat down in the desk next to Enjolras, who rolled his eyes and scooted his chair closer to Combeferre. The boy smirked at Enjolras and took a sip out of a suspicious-looking water bottle.

Brunét smiled at Cosette and said, "we have been studying the French Revolution. Essays out, please."

The other students obliged. Jehan's was written in blue ink, in a leggy cursive. The professor collected everyone's essay until he got to the boy who had just walked in.

"Grantaire, do you have an essay?"

"No. Who cares about all that crap anyway? I mean, it all happened more than 200 years ago," he smartmouthed.

Enjolras made a noise, looking personally offended. "You idiot! It's extremely important! Do you even care?"

"No." Grantaire smirked.

Brunét sighed and turned back to the front. "Combeferre? Your presentation is first."

Combeferre stood up and walked to the front. "The French Revolution, or more specifically, the Reign of Terror, has influenced our lives in many ways that we don't always realize..."

Jehan smiled at Cosette as the presentation went on. Courfeyrac, who was sitting directly behind Combeferre's seat, was busy trying to impress the girl who was sitting next to him.

Enjolras was taking notes like he was supposed to, but he already knew everything in Combeferre's presentation.

As the presentation ended, it was Enjolras' turn. Brunét pursed his lips.

Enjolras' presentation started, "Robespierre was an extremely intelligent man, who sought to better the society and the Republic." From the first sentence, Brunét was frowning.

Halfway through, Grantaire yelled, "Apollo! You realize that you can't marry Robespierre, right?"

Enjolras glared at the boy, who smirked in return.

Courfeyrac swallowed his laughter, as did Jehan. Cosette still looked a bit confused.

The presentation ended with "-And so, his ideals remain. Liberty, equality, and fraternity!"

Grantaire called out again, "and death! Don't forget that one!"

Enjolras glared at the boy and sat down again at his seat, purposefully moving it away from Grantaire and his mysterious water bottle.

After class, Jehan looked at Cosette's schedule and smiled again. "Art! I have that, along with Grantaire."

"That's the boy who was arguing with everyone and smoking in the bathroom?"

"Yes. He's a surprisingly good artist."

Cosette nodded and the two walked to class. As they were walking, a large boy walked up behind Jehan and punched him, just a little too hard to be friendly.

"How's your poetry going, Flower Boy?"

Jehan smiled sweetly. "Great! If you want, I could write you a special one- in your blood."

The guy didn't bother them again as they walked to art.


	2. Chapter 2

Really, Psycho? Marsie? I thought that was a one time thing. I am considering eating the M&Ms I just spent $0.75 on. Humph.

Fluff. Fluff fluff fluff. I love it. So yeah this story shall have a lot of fluffity fluff. But not all, oh no. Because that would be uncharacteristically sweet for someone named after a song about slaughtering one's enemies and preparing to fight tyranny. Don't worry, I'm not going to go Psycho on you and randomly start writing about psychotic barbers. But even high school Les Amis aren't perfect...*hint hint foreshadowing hint*...  
You should have known that by the title, dimwits. Just kiddng! Y'all ROCK! Okay, read on!

CHAPTER TWOOOOOOOOO! YAY! WE MADE IT TO ART CLASS! YAY!

Oh, and a note about French high schools. They go like this: 8am-12pm is one hour classes, then from 12-2pm is lunch/free time, then three one hour classes until 5. That's Monday-Wednesday, but Thursday and Friday only go 'til four. Saturday morning, from 8-10, the other hours are made up. Just so you aren't confused. And lycées (high schools) are also very spread out, with a campus and everything, like college or university in America (and everywhere else I suppose, but I live in the USA so that's my comarison...). Hope that was understandable. And 'today', in the story, is Monday, by the way. Ok.

* * *

"Write a poem in his blood? Really? A bit...harsh, maybe?" Cosette choked out through her laughter.

Jehan shrugged, smiling a bit. "Seems like that's what he would appreciate."

Art class was small, only eight people. Jehan plunked down next to Grantaire in the far corner, causing the boy to jump in surprise. Hastily, he flipped over whatever he was drawing and scowled.

"What?"

"This is Cosette. She was in World History, remember?"

Grantaire kept scowling. He grunted. "Yeah."

Jehan frowned. "Why are you so mad?"

The other boy shifted awkwardly. "No reason. I'm not mad, I just...don't like people looking at what I'm working on until I'm done."

Cosette smiled uncomfortably. "Um, me too, I guess..." she said, trying not to get lost in the conversation.

Jehan nodded and stood up to get a piece of paper. "Supplies are in that cabinet. Madame Florent doesn't really care what you do as long as it's some kind of drawing of a person or an animal."

Smiling a little, Cosette hesitated for a second and then said, "I always draw better if I can see my subject, or a picture of it, so...I was wondering, could I draw you?"

"Sure. I'll try and hold still. I've been drawing a raven, see?" He showed his paper, which depicted a flying black raven of charcoal contrasting against a white painted background. The eyes were droplets of red-it seemed like blood-, and it looked as if the bird was crying. On the feathered breast were written words, half finished in white, that went-  
"Flying, at first, seems like falling,  
And those who do not weep cannot observe the world."

It was titled, "Tears of Blood".

Cosette nodded, more than a little impressed. Quickly, she sketched out a rough outline of Jehan's profile. After about ten minutes, she told him he didn't have to hold so still anymore, and he complied.

XXX

Forty minutes later, Grantaire scribbled a messy "R", his chalkmark, in the lower right hand corner of his work and turned it in. Madame Florent looked up from her own drawing to examine his. Assessing it in a minute or two, she handed it back to him, saying that he had gotten an A.

As Grantaire walked back to his seat, Jehan asked, "now can I see your drawing? You're finished."

Grantaire shrugged like he didn't care and handed over the heavy paper. On it was all their friends- Bossuet, Joly, Bahorel, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Combeferre, Jehan himself, Combeferre, Marius, and Enjolras. Éponine was also there, in the corner, looking at Marius. They were all in Le Musain, a coffee shop which they regularly attended.

The painting caught everyone mid-sentence, with Joly, Bossuet, and Bahorel in one corner playing cards, Courfeyrac clearly flirting with an unseen waitress, Jehan writing, Combeferre reading while Feuilly studied, and Enjolras in the center arguing with Marius. Only Grantaire himself was left out of it.

"Where are you?"

Grantaire shrugged and pointed to a broken glass bottle in the background under a table.

Jehan frowned. "Why...?"

Grantaire shrugged again. "Because I'm not a part of your little idealist group. I only go to the Musain because I know one of the waitresses and she gives me vodka-spiked coffee." And with that he picked up the painting, tucked it into a large folder, and strode out the door as the bell rang.

Jehan had Latin next, while Cosette had gym.

Combeferre was also in Jehan's Latin class. While discussing feminine past tense was extremely interesting, they managed to force themselves to whisper in the back. Combeferre already knew it all anyway, and Jehan had taken an online course so that he could read certian poetry. Both were excelling in the class, and thus had few if any qualms about discussing other things in the middle of it.

"Bossuet's ankle is sprained really badly. We just had gym together and I can tell you right now that there is no way he's going whitewater rafting on Saturday with us," said Combeferre.

Jehan frowned. "I need to have six people, though, and you, Bossuet, Courfeyrac, Bahorel, Feuilly, and I are the only ones who will come. Enjolras claims he needs to study, Grantaire just won't come, Joly doesn't want to fall out and get some sort of brain-eating amoeba he read about, Marius is on a trip to Marseille with his grandfather even though he didn't want to go, and I'm fairly certian Éponine would kill me if I took her or any of her siblings on a high-risk sport."

Combeferre frowned. "I guess you could ask Cosette, she seems pretty nice."

"I barely know her."

"It's not a date, you don't have to. Just tell her you have an open spot on a whitewater raft and if she comes, great; if not, then I'm sure Courfeyrac could find someone."

Nodding, Jehan muttered, "that'll work. Right, I'll ask her after school today. Now, about the incredibly interesting yet dead language of Latin..."

XXX

"Have you ever taken Spanish before?"

"A little, but not much," Cosette admitted.

Señor Huarez frowned. "You might want to consider switching to English or Latin, then. I'm afraid we don't really have a beginner Spanish course."

Cosette smiled humorlessly. "Right. I'll do English. Thanks."

Five minutes later, Cosette was in the classroom of Mr. Romero, who was strict, bald, and wore an orange tie with a green shirt and slacks.

"First rule," he said to Cosette, "no French. Pas de français, and that's the last French you will hear me say unless it's assignments."

Cosette tried very hard to keep up with what Mr. Romero was saying, but the unfamiliar words ran together.

"Hello. My name is Cosette Fauchelevent. I have seventeen years. I live-"

"No! In English it is 'I am seventeen', not 'I have seventeen years'."

"Hello. My name is Cosette Fauchelevent. I ha...am seventeen. I am from Paris, France."

"Correct."

Cosette sighed as Mr. Romero passed out the next assignment, practice conjugating the verbs 'to be' and 'to have'. I am, you/we/they/girls/boys are, girl/boy is. I/we/they/you/girls/boys have, girl/boy has.

It was a very long hour.

XXX

"How was Spanish?"

"Spanish? More like stupid English. I got switched," moaned Cosette good-naturedly. "My teacher enjoys telling us all we have horrible accents. Apparently I sound like I have been drinking lemon juice and my long i's are too short."

Jehan grimaced sympathetically, and Combeferre, who was with them, said, "English isn't too hard, it just has a ton of irregular verbs. But the conjugations are easier."

Cosette looked dubiously at the bespectacled student.

Said bespectacled student shrugged and said that he had learned English by the time he was fifteen.

"Right, but you know everything," quipped Courfeyrac, jogging over, "so just another language must be easy. Come on, right now would be a very bad time for DeClaire to catch me."

Without explaining, Courfeyrac quickly walked over to the building where Enjolras, Grantaire, and Feuilly had their last class.

"Oh! And Jehan, are we still on for rafting? Because Bossuet's ankle is purple and enormous. He showed me and Combeferre and Enjolras during gym and it was butt-ugly and not suitable for anything like that, probably."

Jehan nodded slowly, turning to face Cosette. "So," he said, "I work part-time doing whitewater rafting trips down the Marne river, at a place about thirty minutes outside Paris, and I was wondering if you might like to join me and my friends Saturday. Bossuet would have come, but with his ankle...that's probably not the best idea."

"Sure! I mean, I've never been whitewater rafting before, but it sounds like fun," said Cosette, "only I have to tell my dad. He's pretty protective, but I can probably come."

"Great! We leave after classes end Saturday, eat an early lunch, and then get going at about noon. It'll be good weather, and since we've had a lot of rain lately, the water will be high."

XXX

Cosette hurried home. Upon arriving, her father asked, "how was your first day?"

She smiled and replied, "I made several new friends, and classes were mostly good."

"Mostly?"

"English…it's pretty challenging."

Monsieur Fauchelevent nodded. "Any homework?"

"Just a little…two pages for English due Wednesday, a bit of calculus due Thursday, and I want to keep working on my art project. Oh, and in World History they're doing the French Revolution."

"Great."

Cosette shifted awkwardly. "Oh, and Papa?"

"Yes?"  
"They invited me to go whitewater rafting with them on Saturday. One of them works there, and they needed an extra person. I promise they're all trustworthy, and I like them, and…"

Fauchelevent frowned.

"Please, Papa! It's just a few hours!"

"Bring your phone, and if _anything, _anything at all happens, call me. Okay?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Cosette cried.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi guys. More of this story, yay. This is so much fun to write :D.  
-Marseillaise

The rest of the week passed pretty much uneventfully. Cosette met Éponine, a nice-if underprivileged- girl with four younger siblings. Their names were Azelma, Gavroche, and then the twins, in first grade, who didn't really have names but went by whatever they pleased. Currently, it was Star Wars, and they were Luke and Han.

At last, Saturday arrived. The weather was, as Jehan had predicted, wonderful, and classes passed uneventfully.

Bahorel took them all in his enormous SUV. It was a little crowded, but the thirty minute drive was made both cheesy and slightly more bearable by Courfeyrac and his ridiculous road games.

"This is it. I've had enough trying to find a clothesline!" said an exasperated Feuilly.

Courfeyrac just nodded wisely and insisted that there would, in fact, be a clothesline. There wasn't.

Cosette wasn't quite sure what to make of everything, but she laughed along with the rest until Jehan, from the navigator seat, announced that they were there.

At the launching station, Jehan fitted them all with life vests, helmets, and paddles and got them into the raft.

Combeferre and Feuilly sat up front, Bahorel and Courfeyrac in the center, and Cosette with Jehan in the back of the raft.

They all paddled the first mile or so, narrowly avoiding injury by Courfeyrac swinging his paddle animatedly. He stopped that after whacking Feuilly in the head and making a dent in his helmet.

The first rapid was a class two. Courfeyrac yelled the whole time, insisting that this was the best thing ever.

Combeferre asked him at one point if he was sure that he was in high school, to which Courfeyrac replied, "I could be a very handsome five year old, you have a point."

Cosette laughed, and she didn't see the next rapid. Still weak from laughing, she forgot to brace herself and tumbled out of the raft.

The life vest made her float right up, and she sputtered for air briefly before a hand reached out and grabbed the straps of her live vest. Jehan yanked her up, reaching back with his left arm. Cosette looked up, and saw thin, faint scars there. Averting her eyes and not mentioning it, she allowed herself to be pulled back into the raft.

"You fell out of the boat!" exclaimed Courfeyrac, like it was the best thing ever.

Cosette nodded warily. "I fell out of the boat," she said.

Combeferre, on the other hand, seemed very concerned. "Are you alright?"

Cosette nodded, a little breathless but otherwise fine. "I'm great."

Bahorel gave her a high five, and Feuilly a thumbs up. Courfeyrac kept congratulating her.

The next rapid, Cosette held on. Courfeyrac, not to be outdone, made a huge display of "accidentally" falling out of the raft, pinwheeling his arms and shouting. He landed with a splash, and, coming back up, hooted.

"That was awesome!" he yelled.

Jehan rolled his eyes, saying he wasn't helping Courfeyrac back on the raft. Courfeyrac pretended to look hurt, but did a flip underwater and smiled, clambering back onto the raft.

"Way to fall out of the boat," said Combeferre dryly.

Bahorel, grinning, said innocently, "whoever makes the biggest splash falling out of the raft on the next rapid wins..."

Combeferre, very exasperated, muttered something about not wanting to get wet. Jehan laughed, saying that he should have guessed this would happen. Cosette looked a little relieved that she wouldn't be the only one falling out.

The next rapid, Jehan forbid anyone from jumping off the raft. "It's dangerous," he said seriously, "there's a big rock shelf, and you can get sucked under it and drown."

Courfeyrac nodded.

After the big dangerous rock shelf, the next rapid was a literal slide, with projecting rocks on either side.

Jehan smiled and said, "this is called Le Toboggan de la Mort."

"The Slide of Death? Why?" asked Combeferre worriedly.

Jehan laughed. "It's a misnomer. It's actually quite fun to slide down, and the current carries you to the bottom and back in about five seconds."

Bahorel and Courfeyrac grinned at each other and, at the same time, jumped out. When they got to Le Toboggan de la Mort, they shot down the chute and into the water. Five seconds later, their heads popped up.

"That was the best. Thing. Ever!" cried Courfeyrac.

Bahorel nodded. "It was," he said.

This prompted Feuilly to remark, "according to Courfeyrac, about a bazillion things are 'the best thing ever'. And that's not even proper grammar."

Courfeyrac wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm a very handsome five year old," he said.

Climbing back onto the raft, they continued their journey. Everyone fell in, accidentally or not (or, in Combeferre's case, shoved from behind), and they all had a pretty amazing time.

"You actually get paid for this?" Courfeyrac asked skeptically at the end.

Jehan nodded. "It's the best job ever."

As they took off their life vests and helmets, Feuilly picked up a styrofoam cup off the ground and made an upset noise.

Cosette looked up and Feuilly explained, "I just really hate it when people throw trash on the ground and put chemicals in the air and water and stuff. I grew up on the streets after my parents died when I was eight and until I was found or whatever, and it's just horrible. The water used to be clear, but now it's all murky. And people waste so much even without realizing it. I just don't like when I find trash on the ground."

Cosette nodded.

The drive home was not in the least quieter. After Courfeyrac described his falling out of the raft for the fourth time, Bahorel reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a roll of green duct tape. Handing it to Feuilly, he gave Courfeyrac a look.

Courfeyrac eyed the duct tape warily, then decided it wasn't worth it. He shut up.

After the trip, Jehan had invited their entire group of friends over to his house, so everyone, with the exclusion of Marius, was there.

Enjolras sat on the couch, furiously arguing with someone about something on the Internet. Upon seeing this, Courfeyrac snatched his phone away and typed his own response, keeping Enjolras' phone out of the blond's reach.  
"I...LIKE...FLUFFY...BUNNIES!" Courfeyrac cheerfully read aloud as he typed.

Then, he shut the phone off and put it in his pocket.

"Talk to your friends!" he said.

Grantaire smirked at Enjolras and took a sip from his ever-present unlabeled water bottle.

Cosette watched the exchange amusedly when Luke ran into her and panted, "PONINE! Wait, you aren't Ponine." Then he zoomed back off.

Cosette grinned. Then, remembering something, she went off to find Combeferre.

Combeferre was discussing a book on World War Two he had recently read with Feuilly. Looking up, he saw Cosette and asked what she wanted.

"Um, when you're done, I have a question for you...I mean, I don't really know who to ask but...yeah," she finished lamely.

Combeferre nodded. "Feuilly, I'll be right back."

Cosette led him to a corner.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Jehan...This is so awkward. Um. So, when he pulled me out of the river, I saw scars on his arm, and I was wondering if he cut, because if he does he needs to stop and maybe you all didn't know and I don't want to be mean and tell you but if he is he has to stop and well I just thought I should tell someone." Her words came out in a rush.

Combeferre frowned, obviously not expecting that of all things. "Yes, he used to cut," he said at last. "In our freshman and beginning of sophomore year, he was bullied and teased a lot. And he didn't really have any friends. Courfeyrac got him to stop. That's all I know, but if you really want to know then ask him yourself."

Cosette winced. "I just...it's such an awkward thing to talk about."

Combeferre nodded sympathetically. "Jehan likes you. He's not one to hide things, and if you mention it, I'm sure he would tell you. He's gotten over it by now."

"He likes me? Like, _likes_ me?"

Combeferre reddened slightly. "No! I mean, he likes you as a friend."

Cosette relaxed slightly. "Oh. Okay, I'll ask him."

Nope. Not even Jehan is perfect! I loooooove writing this story, you don't even know how much. Cliffhanger! I hope you all still enjoy this although it is mostly fluff?  
Until next time,  
Marseillaise


	4. Chapter 4

**I know, I know- I should be working on other stories. But this one is just so fun and fluffy and adorable! So there's my excuse. Enjoy!**

**-Marseillaise**

Jehan was, at the moment, being tackled by two second graders who had most likely had way too much caffeine.

Han was sitting on Jehan's chest while Luke tried to drag them both away. Jehan was laughing so hard that he had tears coming out his eyes. Courfeyrac saw and smiled, cheerfully grabbing Han and pulling. Han let go and Courfeyrac landed on his back.

Cosette watched the fight with interest. Courfeyrac noticed her, and stood up, bowing despite his ruffled hair and messed-up appearance. Cosette laughed and Courfeyrac said, "your highness, this is no place for a princess. We peasants must fight for our…um…cookies!"

Han looked up at Courfeyrac with an amazed look. "There's…cookies?" he whispered.

Courfeyrac nodded seriously. "We'll make Jehan our slave and force him to show us the cookies."

Han gave a crazy smile. "COOKIES!"

Luke nodded. "Yes, cookies are good."

Courfeyrac smiled, pulling up Jehan. "Jean Prouvaire, you are now our slave. Take us to the cookies!"

Jehan put on his puppy face and led them to a cupboard. Reaching in, he pulled out a plastic container and opened it to reveal large chocolate-chip cookies.

Han grabbed two cookies and raced off, cackling. Luke, the slightly calmer of the two, grabbed one and followed his twin. Courfeyrac nodded at Cosette, and then said, "Someone should probably make sure that they're okay." He grabbed a startled looking Enjolras off the couch, and said, "I'll give you your phone back if you help me catch the monsters."

Enjolras grudgingly followed along.

That left just Jehan and Cosette in the kitchen. Cosette swallowed nervously.

"Um…Jehan?" she squeaked.

Jehan tipped his head confusedly. "Yes?"

"When we went rafting, and I fell in the water, and you pulled me out, I noticed…cutting marks on you arm."

Jehan sighed. "Two years ago was…difficult for me. I had just moved here, and I didn't have any friends. Then, my older brother died, and…" he frowned. "I got very depressed. I wrote depressing poems, and everyone in my family seemed to ignore me since my brother died."

Cosette looked at him in shock. "I'm…glad you stopped," she said finally.

"Yeah, I met Courfeyrac in the beginning of last year and he really helped me out. We've been best friends ever since."

Just then, Éponine stomped in, dragging an exceedingly hyper and uncontrollably giggling Han. "Who," she said threateningly, "thought it would be a good idea to give Han cookies?"

Jehan put his hands up in surrender. "It wasn't my idea, honestly!"

Enjolras looked up from his phone and called, "Courfeyrac did it."

Éponine stormed off to find Courfeyrac, and a few minutes later, they heard the noises of her shouting at him. He took it without a word, and when she came to a pause, he grabbed her and kissed her on the lips. Éponine's eyes went wide, but then she kissed back. After about thirty seconds, they broke apart. Éponine was blushing furiously, and Courfeyrac winked. Bahorel let out a loud whoop, and started cheering.

Han peeked out from behind Bahorel. His older brother, Gavroche, who was eleven, had showed up, and both were smiling wickedly. Éponine looked at Gavroche, who grinned and held up a recorder for all to see. Éponine's face went red and she went for it, but Courfeyrac pulled her back in for another kiss. Gavroche handed the recorder to Han, who dashed off with it.

Jehan smiled. To Cosette, he said, "we've been trying to get them together for so long! She used to have a thing for Marius, but he doesn't really pay attention to her."

"Marius? Who's that?"

"He's not here, he's in Marseille with his grandfather. He texted me last night and he's hating it."

Cosette winced. "That's unfortunate."

Jehan nodded. Éponine was smiling like an idiot, holding Courfeyrac's hand and shivering in excitement every few minutes.

"While everyone's still here…" began Joly. Everyone looked at him.

He grinned and picked up his girlfriend, Musichetta, and kissed her. The surrounding people grinned, and Combeferre sighed.

"Come here, Azelma," he said. The fifteen-year-old, delighted, ran up to him. They kissed, and everyone gasped.

"Azelma! You aren't allowed to date people! Or kiss them!" said Éponine.

"Hypocrite," muttered Azelma.

Combeferre smiled. "What do you think I'm going to do? Abuse her innocence? We've been going out for two months and none of you noticed."

Luke said seriously, "I noticed."

Azelma looked at her brother. "That's because when you aren't attacking Courfeyrac, you're a genius. You spend too much time around Enjolras."

Enjolras pretended to look offended. "Excuse me?"

Azelma rolled her eyes. "You're almost eighteen, the oldest of us all, and you've never had a girlfriend, boyfriend, or kissed anyone, or anything!"

Enjolras shrugged. "So?"

"So, get out! Have fun! Go on a date! Politics and boring stuff can wait!"

"No, they can't."

Azelma rolled her eyes again and kissed Combeferre.

Grantaire, who was thoroughly drunk by now, stood up and said, "anyone want to kiss me?"

No one took him up on that.

After the party, Cosette went home. She took a shower and changed into dry clothes before coming downstairs.

"How was rafting?" asked her father.

"Great! I actually fell out once, but Jehan pulled me back in, and it was super fun."

M. Fauchelevent smiled. "Did you put on sunscreen?"

Cosette rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, Papa.

"Jehan had a bit of a party afterward, with all his friends, too. It was a blast."

"Party? Was there alcohol?"

Cosette decided not to mention the fact that Grantaire had been drunk the whole time. "No, no alcohol. But I met this girl, Éponine, and she's really nice."

"You should have her over, or do something!"

"Actually…I was wondering if I could take her to the mall with me next Saturday?"

"Of course!"

Cosette smiled. "Great! She's nice. She has four younger siblings, named Azelma, Gavroche, Luke, and Han. Luke and Han are twins, and they drive Éponine up the wall. But her parents aren't great, and she ends up mothering them, which is sad. But she has a great boyfriend, and a bunch of other friends."

Cosette's father smiled. "If you're hungry, there's food in the fridge. I'm going to go lie down."

Cosette nodded, saying that she wasn't hungry, but she thanked him anyway.

XXX

"Make a move on her!"

"I've known her for a week! Honestly, Courfeyrac."

Courfeyrac grinned. "She's perfect for you."

"You've said that about like five girls."

"Well, this one's _really_ perfect."

"The last girl I dated turned out to be a druggie, and she tried to get me hooked on crack!" said Jehan exasperatedly.

Courfeyrac winced, remembering that particular incident. "Yeah, Mai didn't work out to well, did she. Just think about it, okay?"

Jehan rolled his eyes. "_I'm not in love with Cosette_!"

Courfeyrac smirked. "Whatever you say…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Yeah, I know I should be working on other ones. But this is cute and fun and :)**

**-Marseillaise**

_im druink1! –R_

Enjolras rolled his eyes and texted back, _No surprises there. Why did you feel that I needed to know this information?_

_yoiu dontr care? L -R_

_No, I don't. Go to sleep, it's three in the morning. –Enjolras_

_Y r u up atthree inn the mojrning? –R_

_I'm working on a paper. Stop texting me. –Enjolras _

_Nooooo. –R_

Irritated, Enjolras turned off the notifications of his texts and went back to his paper, which was about gender equality. He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, it was seven o'clock in the morning and _La Marseillaise_, his alarm, was playing. He rubbed his eyes and picked up his phone. Thirty-eight unread messages. Stupid Grantaire. He didn't even bother looking at them, and headed out the door. It was foggy and a bit crisp, but nothing really.

Enjolras walked down to the coffee shop a block down and ordered a coffee. The pretty girl who was at the counter was still trying to flirt with him. He resolved to go to a different Starbucks for a few weeks.

Leaving the shop, he walked back to the flat he shared with Combeferre. The other student wasn't awake yet, which didn't surprise Enjolras. He sat in the kitchen with his laptop and tried vainly to work on his paper while not falling asleep while drinking coffee to battle the sleepiness. It didn't work great, but Enjolras managed not to spill coffee on himself or the laptop, and he got half a page typed. So it wasn't a complete fail.

Combeferre walked into the kitchen and saw a half-awake Enjolras thriving on coffee and willpower. He rolled his eyes and went back into his bedroom to get dressed.

"I'm having Azelma, Gavroche, Han, and Luke over today so that Courfeyrac and Éponine can go on a date. Is that fine?"

Enjolras grunted, obviously tired. "So you can kiss Azelma, you mean. Yeah, that's fine. I still have about five more pages of this paper to write and revise before I post it."

Rolling his eyes, Combeferre said, "your blog? What was it called again?"

"Mots pour l'Abaissé."

"Oh, I remember. Yeah, Courfeyrac about fainted because you used a pun. Words for the debased. Interesting title, whatever."

"Over five thousand people follow it."

Combeferre's eyes bugged out. "Five _thousand_? That's amazing!"

"Mm."

Combeferre nodded. "This is the product of three hours of sleep, okay. So, Éponine's siblings are coming over in two hours."

"Mm."

"Good to know. I'm going to discuss poetry."

"Mm."

"Enjolras, you know that you should probably get more than three hours of sleep a day, right?"

"Mm."

"Whatever."

Combeferre went off to text Jehan about poetry.

XXX

Jehan yawned and sat up. His phone buzzed. Picking it up, he saw a text from Courfeyrac.

_GOOD MORNINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! –Courf_

_Hi! –Jehan_

_Today would be a good day to ask Corset on a date. Girls like Sunday afternoon walks in the garden. –Courf_

_…And you would know this, right? –Jehan_

_Totally! I dated this one girl for two months. Two whole months! And I walked in the garden on Sunday with her. –Courf_

Jehan sighed and replied, _I'm not in love with Cosette!_

_Don't deny yourself. –Courf_

_I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH COSETTE! –Jehan_

_Pretend I'm Cosette. What would you say? –Courf_

Just then, another text came in, from Combeferre. Unfortunately, Jehan didn't notice that this was a new person, and he texted _I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU! –Jehan _

_That's…great…-Combeferre_

_OMG sorry 'Ferre! I was texting Courf. –Jehan_

_…And you're not in love with Courfeyrac either, I take it? –Combeferre_

_No. Plus, he's dating Éponine. –Jehan_

_You and Courfeyrac would be cute. –Combeferre_

_This is a really awkward conversation. I'm going to go get food, okay? Txt you in 15. –Jehan_

Jehan put his phone down like it was a bomb, and went into the kitchen to go get some breakfast. _Sometimes it's good being the only child, _he thought.

Pouring some cereal, he sat down at the table and got out a book. It was interesting, an hour later, he remembered his promise to text Combeferre. Rolling his eyes, he put his bowl in the dishwasher and went back upstairs to his phone.

_Giving Cosette the silence treatment is not going to get her to like you, fyi. –Courfeyrac_

_Hello? –Combeferre_

_Hello? –Combeferre_

_I'm sorry! –Combeferre_

Quickly, he texted back Combeferre, but realized he had to go to the library. _I have 2 go 2 the lib. Sorry, ttyl. –Jehan_

He hurriedly got ready, then biked to the library. He worked Sunday mornings in the children's section, which was a ton of fun. While he had a few minutes rest, he decided to text Cosette (he had gotten her number at the party).

_Hey, it's Jehan –Jehan_

_Hi Jehan! It's Jerry from StateFarm. –Cosette_

_Hi Jerry from StateFarm. –Jehan_

_Sooo…can I help you? –Cosette_

_No, I thought you were Cosette :P –Jehan_

_That's my evil twin. Sorry. –Cosette_

_If you want to seem anon, you might consider changing your signature. It says Cosette. –Jehan_

_I know that. I was being sarcastic. I have not had enough coffee today. –Cosette_

_How much coffee have you had? –Jehan_

_I stopped counting after the third cup. –Cosette_

_Bye now. Must direct young children to the graphic novels. –Jehan_

_…Okay, then. Have fun. –Cosette_

Jehan smiled, and, after directing the kid to the Spiderman graphic novels, realized that he really liked talking to Cosette. He didn't have a _crush_ on her, no way. But she was pretty nice.

XXX

Azelma, Gavroche, Han, and Luke all came in the station wagon that Éponine drove.

"I don't need to be _babysat_!" insisted Gavroche.

Éponine rolled her eyes. "Last time I left you by yourself, you managed to demolish half the trailer. Now be good."

Gavroche rolled his eyes. Combeferre, observing this communication, quickly texted Bahorel.

_Can you come over? Gav's here. –Combeferre_

_Yah, b there in 5.–B-man_

Han, ever the nuisance in the day, appeared not to be an early bird. After yawning twice, he conked out on the sofa.

Luke, on the other hand, was very energetic. While not as crazy as his brother, he could still be quite the annoying child. Enjolras finally calmed him down by talking to him about the French Revolution, as he was re-writing his essay for History class.

An hour later, Luke was looking with adoring eyes up at Enjolras, nodding and hanging on to every word. Gavroche and Bahorel were outside playing football with Han, and Azelma and Combeferre were snuggling on the couch.

Bahorel came in a few minutes later, asking Combeferre where the medical supplies were.

Azelma jumped up and looked at Bahorel with a threat in her eyes just like her sister.

"If you hurt one of them…"

"Relax. Han tripped and fell. He scraped his arm on a rock."

"How bad is it?"

"Two band-aids. Maybe three."

Bahorel had Han fixed up in no time (he had had lots of experience from his boxing career), who insisted that he was okay, and wanted to go back to football. He also insisted that he needed cookies, but that wish was not granted.

XXX

Cosette had spent the morning painting her nails. She wasn't all preppy and obsessed with that kind of thing, but it was still fun. She chose a light mint green that went well with her eyes. She texted Jehan a bit, but then he had to go attend to children. So she painted little pink hearts on her left thumbnail. She didn't think she could pull it off on her other nail, and decided that one heart was better than one heart and one crappy-looking heart.

Standing up, she stretched and walked downstairs. Her father was reading a book on the sofa. She joined him, thinking that she needed a good book idea.

_Book ideas, M. Librarian? –Cosette_

_Do you like Spiderman graphic novels? –Jehan_

_Not really.–Cosette_

_Spy novels? –Jehan_

_No. –Cosette_

_Historical romance? –Jehan_

_…How many of those have you read? –Cosette_

_A lot J -Jehan _

_…Okay, then. –Cosette_

_I like Jane Eyre. Even though everyone reads it. –Jehan_

_Never read it. –Cosette_

_Read it J -Jehan_

_Will do. Merci. –Cosette_

_De rien! –Jehan_

Cosette smiled and walked to the library.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again! I do apologise for the shortness of this chapter and the length of the update. Blame my little brother who has been using my laptop 24/7 to play Minecraft on. Anyways, here is the next bit, I thought I would give it to you just so you knew I was here! Practically the only story I can update fast right now is Imagine, since those are one-shots, so go look at and review on that! Enjoy!**

**-Marseillaise**

Gavroche smiled at the two figures coming out of the library. He practically flew down the tree and to Courfeyrac's flat, where the rest of his siblings were gathered.

"They're walking out of the library together!" he exclaimed. "I think they're going to have amazing babies!"

Courfeyrac snorted and laughed so hard he almost choked. Éponine looked slightly alarmed, and said, "they're not even dating yet, Gav. There is absolutely zero chance of that happening."

Gavroche nodded. Han looked like he was going to gag at the thought of having babies, and Luke poked Combeferre. Combeferre looked down at Luke, who handed him a smartphone.

"What is this?" asked Combeferre.

"Jehan's phone," said Luke, "when you took me to the library an hour ago I nabbed it while Jehan was busy doing something."

Courfeyrac looked in amazement at Luke, who shrugged.

Éponine grinned. "He _is_ a Thénardier, after all," she said.

"That's brilliant!" cried Courfeyrac. Snatching the phone from Combeferre, he unlocked it. "What d'ya Jehan's passcode is?"

Luke smiled. "Try 'ferrari'", he said. "I've known that for a long time, I hope he hasn't changed it.

Courfeyrac typed in 'ferrari' and to his amazement the phone unlocked. "Geez. I'm glad you're on our side," he said to Luke.

Luke grinned, and Combeferre said, "are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, last time you played matchmaker and tried to set Jehan up it turned out very badly…"

Courfeyrac shrugged. "Nah, Cosette's perfect for him."

Combeferre looked unconvinced, but didn't argue.

Courfeyrac was looking through Jehan's texts. "They've been texting!" he said triumphantly, "look, he even sent her a smiley face!"

"…a smiley face? That's what you're basing your conclusion that they're perfect for one another on? Courf, Jehan sends _everyone_ smiley faces."

"It's a start, 'Ferre. You can't expect a couple to be kissing after a week. Usually."

Combeferre didn't say anything.

Suddenly, there was a text tone and a new message popped up. It was from Cosette. Courfeyrac gleefully opened it to read "Courfeyrac, if you have this, give me my phone back."

Courfeyrac groaned. "That didn't last long…"

Then, he got an idea.

_Kiss Cosette and I'll never steal ur phone again! –_Courf

_No! –_Cosette

_Wait is this Cosette? –_Courf

_No, this is Jehan using Cosette's phone. –_Cosette

_La da da kiss da girl *music* -_Courf

_No. Give me my phone back Courfeyrac. –_Cosette

_No! –_Courf

Jehan didn't reply, and Courfeyrac smiled. "Who can take care of his phone?"

Azelma ended up with the phone, because they decided that she was the one he would suspect the least aside from Combeferre, who really couldn't be trusted.

XXX

Jehan groaned and handed Cosette her phone back. He deleted the messages exchanged between himself and Courfeyrac, of course.

"No luck?" she asked.

"Well, Courfeyrac has it, which might as well be no luck. I'm telling you, that boy…"

Cosette laughed lightly. "I'm sure he doesn't have a real reason for it. He'll give it back."

"No, he won't…" sighed Jehan. "I really don't think he will."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jehan awkwardly shifted.

Cosette pulled out her book and began reading. For lack of book, Jehan stood up. "Do you want something to eat or something?"

Cosette smiled. "Um, sure."

Nodding, Jehan walked into the kitchen and hunted around. After a few minutes, he came back with cheese-its.

"Cheese-its?"

Jehan shrugged. "They taste good!"

Laughing, Cosette ate some cheese-its.

XXX

"They're eating cheese-its!" Han said gleefully into the walkie-talkie.

Gavroche nodded, and Courfeyrac tried not to collapse with laughter. "This was the best idea ever," he said to Éponine. She nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Combeferre was sitting, frowning. "Are you sure this is a good thing to do?"

Courfeyrac nodded. "Of course! They're perfect for each other! Lighten up, 'Ferre."

Combeferre didn't say anything, just looked a bit pained.

Rolling his eyes, Courfeyrac looked at Combeferre. "Look. If you had a massive crush on Azelma would you like my help in getting you two together?"

"Honestly…no. Not at all, as we did perfectly fine ourselves."

"You're no fun. But I disagree. They're just perfect."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! I'm back with more of this :). I won't be updating as frequently, starting Tuesday, because...school...**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**-Marseillaise**

On Monday morning, Jehan woke up to discover his phone on his bedside table, along with a note that read,

_Fine, here. Text me during math class, k? And didja know that you sleep with your eyes half open? Weird. Go kiss Cosette. _

_-Courfeyrac_

Jehan rolled his eyes and unlocked his phone. The background now consisted of Courfeyrac's face, with "Courfeyrac iz the best I wish I cud b lyk him sumday" on the forehead. He also found an alarm at 1:00 in the morning that made bomb noises. Han had drawn a picture of two stick figures kissing, labeled "Jehan and Cossete". Jehan deleted it, as he disliked not having a nose.

There was also a text from Combeferre, saying that he had nothing to do with it and disapproved of the whole idea, and to remember that Monday was unofficial Oxford Comma Day.

Jehan smiled at that. Slipping on off-white skinny jeans and a navy blue t-shirt that said "I love lists, clarity, and the Oxford Comma" (that Combeferre had given to him for this specific day), he looked through the rest of his phone. Other than Cosette's contact having multiple hearts after it, nothing else had been changed. He poured a bowl of dry cereal and a glass of orange juice.

After eating, brushing teeth, and combing his hair, Jehan put on his backpack, climbed on his purple motorcycle, and sped off.

After suffering through forty five minutes of trigonometry, which was eased slightly by the fact that Courfeyrac, who was in math but had a different teacher, sent him funny cat pictures every five minutes, the bell finally rang. His next class was resource, with Joly, Éponine, Bahorel, and Courfeyrac, which was always quite interesting.

There was a substitute teacher. Courfeyrac made a bad first impression by announcing to the class that he was leaving, and hastening to do so, when the teacher didn't appear for the first five minutes.

Thirty seconds later, a tall man came storming into the room dragging Courfeyrac by the arm and announcing to the class that skipping through the hallways singing "The Hills are Alive" was NOT a good idea. Courfeyrac shrugged and gave him the finger when his back was turned.

Bahorel and Oliver, who most people called Olive, were sitting on opposite sides of the classroom. They threw pencil stubs back and forth at each other until M. Bellaire (the substitute) stood up and started yelling at them. His face got red and contorted, and his veins stood out. He had not, as it seemed, had a good morning.

Jehan tried hard not to laugh and started his trig homework. Underneath his desk, he texted Courfeyrac, who had decided that math was stupid and everyone should look at funny cats on the internet instead.

_U should tell ur math teacher that –Jehan_

_Yeah. Good idea. And I can show everyone this. –Courf _

The picture he referred to was a meme of a cat flying through the air saying "!*$% MATH"

_…ok. And when u get detention and miss Enjy's giant rants? –Jehan_

_Meh. Look at this. –Courf_

This time the picture was of Enjolras, but his eyes were closed and his mouth was open. Courfeyrac had added a moustache and a sombrero.

_PTDR! –Jehan_

_Ikr. Perfect. Imma send it to enjy. –Courf_

A few minutes later, Jehan got a text from Enjolras saying "_WHAT ON EARTH?! COURFEYRAC SENT ME PICTURES OF YOU AND ME LOOKING STUPID IN MOUSTACHES AND SOMBREROS. –Enjolras"_

_Courfeyrac what did you do send me the pictures of me. Jehan_

Courfeyrac responded q uickly. _AHAHA here –Courf_

They weren't quite as bad as Enjolras', but they were quite something.

"Prouvaire!" Jehan snapped his head up to see a very angry Bellaire staring at him. "Your phone, please."

Jehan handed over the phone.

"You may have it back at the end of the day."

Jehan nodded.

Suddenly, Éponine let out a scream. Bellaire turned hastily, slipping in the spilled…substance that was leaking out of Éponine's water bottle.

XXX

They all got detention. Presided over by none other than Bellaire himself.

XXX

Combeferre was livid when they got out. Shaking his head, he told them that, angry as he was, Enjolras was angrier. Courfeyrac smiled.

"Good thing we don't have to encounter him, then."

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon, dinner's on me," replied the curly, brown-haired boy.

Jehan nodded and, along with Bahorel and Éponine, walked back with Courfeyrac.

"Um…Jehan, my car can only fit five people- two up front and three in back-, and I need to babysit Luke and Han. Follow us with your bike?" asked Courfeyrac, "It's a restaurant, I've had this free dinner pass for ages and it expires tomorrow."

Jehan nodded good-naturedly.

The restaurant was called Café Musain. It wasn't a terribly nice café, but it wasn't horrible.

"Reservations…I think they're under Courfeyrac," he said to the waiter.

"Right this way!"

Courfeyrac grinned at Éponine, Bahorel, and the twins. They walked over to a table.

Jehan arrived a minute after, his hair windswept from the ride. "Hi, I think it's under Courfeyrac?"

"Your date is already waiting. Follow me."

"My-wait, what?"

But the waiter had already started ahead. Jehan followed him, passing by Courfeyrac's table. Courfeyrac waved at him, smiling devilishly.

The table the waiter led him to was a two person table, lit by candles. The other person there was Cosette.


End file.
